Bathroom hand rail fixture



July 23, 1963 c. M. FLEENOR 3,098,240

BATHROOM HAND RAIL FIXTURE Filed Aug. 3, 1962 INVENT CHARLES M. FLEEN Bg Qg% United States Patent 3,098,240 BATHROOM HAND RAIL FIXTURE Charles M. Eleanor, 817 NE. 16th St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Filed Aug. 3, 1962, Ser. No. 214,700 1 (Ilaim. (Cl. 4185) This invention relates to bathroom fixtures and more particularly to a bathroom fixture which is also a safety device. In greater particularity it relates to a safety rail for attachment to the wall of a shower or a wall above a bathtub, said rail being used as a combined hand grip and towel rack.

An object of the present invention is to provide a safety rail along two adjacent sides of a bathroom wall which is easily accessible from either a bathtub or a shower.

A further object of the invention is to provide an easily installed safety rail which is simple in construction but extremely durable and sturdy when applied to a bathroom wall.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a convenient aid for invalid or ill persons to easily get in and out of a tub or shower when their sense of balance is not as keen as it normally is.

Devices heretofore on the market have been either too cumbersome and complicated for the ordinary tub or shower or have been of such construction that they are easily separated from the wall. It is a further object, therefore, to provide a bathroom fixture and safety rail which, once properly installed, will not separate from nor materially damage the tile of the bathroom wall.

A still further object is to provide a bathroom safety rail which may be installed at any height which is convenient to the desires of the user. Some users may be desirous of having it installed low near the top of the tub while others may want it installed high near the top of the bathroom. Still others may want it installed at any location in between the two extremes.

In this specification and the accompanying drawing there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention; it is to be understood that this is not intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention, but on the contrary, is given for purposes of illustration in order that others skilled in the art may fully understand the invention and the principles thereof and the manner of applying it in practical use so that they may modify and adapt it in various forms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of a particular use.

Further objects, advantages, uses and adaptations of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, having like pants similarly indicated, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the bathroom fixture secured to a bathroom wall above a bathtub;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the bathroom safety rail;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional View taken substantially on the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and showing the means of installing the rail on the bathroom wall;

FIGURE 4 is a front view of the wall plate used for fastening the safety rail to the wall.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, '5 represents a conventional bathtub installed in a corner of a bathroom of which two tiled walls 6 and 7 are shown. Details of the tub and its installation form no part of the present invention.

Safety rail 8 is formed of two portions 9 and 10 which extend at substantially right angles to each other. The purpose of the right angle bend or construction is to enable the safety device to be installed in the corner of a bathroom, thereby providing a safety rail for a greater portion of the tub or shower area.

Safety rail 8 is provided, for ornamental as well as safety purposes, with cap 11 closing off the exposed end of section 9 and cap 12 closing off the exposed end of section 10.

The safety rail 8 is fastened to and securely held to the bathroom wall by means of holding devices 13, =14, and 15. FIGURE 3 shows in detail the construction of holding device 15 which is illustrative of each of the holding devices.

As shown in FIGURE 3, holding device 15 consists of wall plate 16 which is substantially T-shaped in cross section. The top portion of the T shown here as 17 is intended to fit flatly against the bathroom wall 7 and is provided with openings such as opening 18 or 19 for insertion of suitable fastening means such as anchors and screws to securely hold the wall plate to the wall.

In order to provide maximum strength to the safety rail it is suggested that the wall plate be provided with a; plurality of openings such as 18, shown in FIGURE 4, on the top portion of the wall plate 17 and a single opening 19, or at least a lesser number of openings, in the bottom portion of wall plate 17. As the greatest forces on the rail are downwardly and outwardly, by providing each of the wall plates with a plurality of fastening devices in a plane above a plane taken horizontally through the rail itself, greater strength and stability are provided.

The body portion 20 of wall plate 16 is provided at its outer ends with a concave surface 21 shaped to snugly fit the perimeter of the rail 10. To securely hold rail 10 to the body portion 20, fastening element 22 extends through rail 10 and into the body portion 20. Any suitable fastening means in which the exposed portion provides an attractive appearance and a surface free from jagged edges or sharp projections can be used to hold the rail to the wall plate.

Cover plate or escutcheon 23 fits over wall plate 16 to provide an attractive appearance and to conceal from view the means for holding the wall plate to the wall.

Installation of the device is as follows: Wall plates such as that shown in FIGURE 3 as 16 are placed on the wall in the positions desired to hold safety rail 8-. These wall plates are so positioned that the portion with a plurality of fastener receiving means such as holes 18 is above the portion with the single or lesser number of holes.

After the wall plates have been affixed to the wall then cover plates or escutcheons such as that shown as 23 are placed over the wall plates. Safety rail 8 is then placed in the concave outer surface 21 of each of the wall plates 16 and fastening elements such as 22 are used to secure the rail to the wall plate.

If it is desired that the rail be installed in a corner opposite the one shown in FIGURE 1 all one has to do is reverse the rail so that end portion 9 will fi-t across the opposite end of the tub and side portion 10 will run along the wall at right angles to the end wall. Thus the safety rail is adaptable without any material change to fit any of the four corners of a bathroom.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawing and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A hand grip and safety device for use in combination with a bathtub having a vertical Wall along at least one end and along one side thereof comprising (a) an elongated rail horizontally adjacent to but spaced a relatively short distance from the vertical wall and located above the top of the bathtub,

(b) a second elongated rail lying in the same horizontal plane as said first elongated rail and extending at right angles thereto,

(0) said second elongated rail horizontally adjacent to but spaced a relatively short distance from the vertical wall extending along the end of the bathtub,

(d) said second elongated rail located above the top of the bathtub,

(e) a plurality of fastening means for securing the elongated rails to the adjacent vertical wall,

(f) each of said fastening means comprised of a T- shaped member with means securing said T-shaped member to the wall, 1

(g) the outer surface of each of said T-shaped member being shaped to conform to the shape of the surface of the elongated rail members,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Fisher May 20, 1941 Tilson et a1 Dec. 10, 1957 Scott May 12, 1959 Roman July 28, 1959 Tisdall Nov. 24, 1959 

